The Brion McClanahan Show

The Washington Post laments that Pat Buchanan had any influence on the Republican Party in the 1990s. Buchanan was simply an extension of long simmering dissatisfaction with "establishment" Republicans in the post World War II era, mainly coming from Southern voices.  https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Did the Puritans and Pilgrims make America? Our popular imagination seems to think so, but what about Virginia? G.K. Chesterton wrote this interesting piece in 1920 about the Virginia origins of the United States. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Could the Lincoln Myth save America? No, but that doesn't stop some conservatives and libertarians from pushing such rubbish. If you follow the Lincoln Myth to its logical conclusion, you end up with the 1619 Project. Or the left's war on culture. Or Ty Seidule. In other words, you get destructive progressivism. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Attacks on Confederate monuments, like the beautiful reconciliation monument in Arlington National Cemetery, are an assault on culture. They would argue against this position, but it shows you the true barbarism of these people. They have no culture and despise tradition and therefore must eliminate anything they disagree with. This is American Leninism. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brion...

In a shocking essay, progressive Jamelle Bouie argues that the Anti-Federalists were right about the Supreme Court. This is an amazing admission for a progressive because their entire agenda would not have been possible without an over-powerful federal court system. Bouie event quotes Brutus, but one has to wonder if he would have argued this position if the Court was 7-2 in favor of the Left. Pro...

When National Review thinks a candidate would be a good president, conservatives should pause. Ron DeSantis appears to be one of the front runners for the Republican nomination in 2024, but would he be a better governor than president? https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Our modern Thanksgiving holiday was born in New England. This may not be news, but the way it became a "national" holiday might surprise you, particularly when you know that the South resisted Thanksgiving precisely because it was a New England holiday created to oppose Christmas.   https://mcclanahanacademy.com  https://brionmcclanahan.com/support 

The 2022 election has more people talking about decentralization. Texas has always claimed it can secede. Is this true or is it illegal? https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

According to one dopey leftist, American "gun culture" was created by Reconstruction and racism. You see, he argues that before 1865, Americans rarely owned firearms. The problem, of course, is that he uses a widely discredited book to build his argument. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Allen Guelzo is perhaps the most conspicuous Lincoln myth-maker in America. A recent piece at the Wall Street Journal highlights his mischaracterization of "Honest Abe" as a acolyte of the founding generation. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Republicans vastly under performed last week leading to a red ripple. I still think they will have a two seat majority in the Senate after the Dec 6 run off in Georgia, and they will have a narrow majority in the House. What does this mean? Nothing, as I explain. https://mcclanahancademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support 

For the last several years, politicos have been talking about the "new right". But what is it, and frankly is it that new? Or better yet, did Donald Trump's "America First" and his outsider message differ that much from what some people--including Jimmy Carter--say in the 1970s? Only historically ignorant people, and that would include the modern media, think so. https://mcclanahanacademy.com http...

There is something noble about losing, particularly if your cause is just, but in the modern era, we continue to view political losers as heroes, especially if you are on the left. They don't fit the just cause group. They are mostly just losers. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

We tend to think that modern elections are more corrupt than any in American history. Is that true? It depends on how you define "corruption." I discuss historical election shenanigans, particularly those in colonial Virginia. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

President Brandon decided to warn us against "political violence" last week. He also railed against voter suppression and other bogeymen on the eve of the 2022 elections. This was arguably the worst speech of his administration. Hyperbole, platitudes, and slogans. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Michael Anton bristles at the notion of an  "Anglo-American" tradition, arguing that children of non-English  immigrants cannot be part of that tradition. Instead, he thinks the  American "regime" needs to be based on "natural rights." This is a  confused mess based on a bad reading of American history. mcclanahanacademy.com brionmcclanahan.com/support

Paul Gottfried wrote a recent piece questioning Straussian commitment to natural rights "ideology" compared to a society rooted in the Anglo-American tradition. What is more important? https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Glenn Ellmers doesn't like it when conservatives reject the proposition nation myth. In fact, he argues Lincolnian ideology should form the basis of American "patriotism."  https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Is America an idea? And what is the basis of "American conservatism" and the root of American "patriotism"? These are fundamental questions and are at the core of the ongoing struggle to direct the American "conservative movement." https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Next to John C. Calhoun, no Southerner is more maligned by modern Americans than Jefferson Davis. According to the popular narrative, he was nothing more than a racist, slave owning traitor who led the Confederate government. Is this a fair assessment? No. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

In what can only be described as one of the worst articles in the history of Time Magazine, Jon Meacham argues that the time is right for the Democrats to take a page from Abraham Lincoln and "save democracy." I wonder if he wants to kill 1 million Americans? https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Eric Foner thinks "presentism" is a valuable part of history. He defends it through a review of a new book on C. Vann Woodward who was at one time considered the most important historian in America. To be blunt, Foner gets a lot wrong. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

A leftist at the New York Times worries that States are going to have too much power over the central government. In other words, he has discovered originalism, and he doesn't like it. This is a revealing piece. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Is the Constitution broken, or the better question, was America recreated in 1865? Do will still live under the original Constitution. Noah Feldman argues Lincoln did indeed "break" the Constitution during the War, but this was a good thing. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support

Does "Progressive Originalism" exist? And what does it mean? Randy Barnett and Evan Bernick recently published an extensive history of the 14th Amendment that makes the case for "progressive originalism." This ties into the "myths of American history." https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support